Butter for grain-binders



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .J; E. MUSTARD. BUTTER FOR GRAIN BINDERS.

Nof532,896. Patented Jan, 22, 1895.

F IE-.:

FIE-L- {Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) J. E. MUSTARD.

BUTTER FOR GRAIN BINDER S. No. 532,896. g Patented Jan. 22, 1895.

FIG-.5

. H HHH uim B work to which my' improvedbutter is at- JAMES E. MUSTARD,OF GLEN HALL, INDIANA.

1 1 Burns FORf GRAiN-BINDERS.

' SPECIFICATION forming sa of- Letters P atentNo.582,896, dated January22,1895.

Application filed August 4, 1391.

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I,,JAMEs' E. MUSTARD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Glen, Hall, in the county of Tippecanoe and State ofIndiana, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements in Butters forGrain Binders, of which the following is a specification.

My said invention consists in an improved construction of that deviceforming part of-a grain-binder structure commonly known as a butter, orthe device for adjusting thebutts of the grain straws into thejproperrelation with each other and the binding mechanism, whereby such adevice is provided whichop: crates continuously,'and one by which thelabor is performed with increased efficiency, all as will; behereinafter'more particularl described and claimed.

Referring to the -accompanying drawings, which are madeapart'hereof, andon which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts,-Figure lis a front elevation of that portion of a grain binder on which thebinding mechanism is located; Fig. 2, a top or plan view of the same;Fig. 3, a detail perspective view of my improved butter on an enlargedscale; Fig. 4, a rearelevation of the same, and Fig. 5, a longitudinalsectional View looking in the direction indicated by the arrows'from thedotted line 5. 5. in Fig; 3.

In said drawings the portion marked A represents the side board of theelevator frametached, and B said butter. I I g In general the machine isor 'may be'of any construction desired; that illustrated in the drawingsbeing one of those in common use, showing my invention attached thereto.It will, therefore, not be necessary to herein describe the constructionof said machine except to incidentally mention those parts with whichthe device constituting my invention is connected either in constructionor opera tion.- n

The butter B consists of a board or frame hinged at its upper end to thelower edge of the side-board A on the front side of the elevator, bymeans of hinges b, its other end extending onto the grain-deck, or placewhere the bundles are formed, and its lower edge resting on the floorthereof. A series of lon- Serial No. 401,625. up man gitudinalways areformed in said board or frame in each of which a base'B' is mounted toslide. In suitable bearings a secured to and projecting out from theside-board A is journaled a compound crank shaft B formed of as manycranks as there are sliding bases B, said cranks preferably extendingalter-- nately in opposite directions from the center of the shaft. Eachof said bases B is connected by a rod b with the transverse portion ofthat crank of said shaft which is in line, therewith, a suitable boxbeing formed on the outer end of each of said'rods for en gaging withthe crank.- ,On-the lower end of said crank shaft a imiter gear wheel 12is mounted which 'is arranged to mesh with a similar wheel on the end ofa shaft journaled in hearings on said side-board A, and -connected'withthe driving power by any suitab le gear. Toeach of the bases B isformed, asshown, a series of seatsfor outwardly extending fingers b band b, which are secured thereon by screws, or in any suitable manner.Each of said fingers is preferablyformed of spring metal, and the seatfor each of the outer fingers b is formed on a gradual incline. Saidfingers are also formed of greater length than the others, and thusextend farther onto the grain-deck but onan angle of less pitch. Thefingers b are similar in formation and secured to their seats in asimilar manner, butsaid seats are formed on an angle of greater pitchand are not of as great alength. The fingers b arestill shorter, and theseats onwhich they are secured have a yet greater angle. The outer endof each of said fingers is preferably formed serrated, as shown. Theouter end of eaohof the bases B is secured in the way in which it ismounted by means of transverse pins b, which extend through the same andproject on each side of the board or frame B. To the upper edge of saidboard B is secured an car 12 to which a rod B is connected,-which rodruns through a clip b on the top of the cradle and'ends in the handlewithin convenient reach of; the driver, sitting upon the seat of themachine. 7 For a short distance each side of said clip b the lower edgeof said red I) is formed notched,

which notches are adapted to engage with the lower corner of theperforation in said clip. By this arrangement the operator is enabled toadjust the lower end of the butter frame in or out as the demands of thework may require, it being held in the desired position by means of thenotches in the rod B The operation of my said invention is asfollows:The grain being elevated and deposited in the cradle in theordinary manner, and the butter mechanism being in operation,

' the crank shaft 13 operates to drive the bases B and the fingersmounted thereon back and forth, the alternate bases being driven inalternate directions. In the drawings only three of these bases areshown, the two outside ones being geared to operate together while thecentral one operates oppositely and alone, but as will be readilyunderstood, any number of these sliding bases might be used withoutdeparting from my invention, and geared to operate as desired. In theconstruction shown the two on ter series of fingers being forceddownwardly operate to catch the butts of the straw being delivered intothe cradle from the elevator by their serrated edges, and push it alongtoward the knotting mechanism and at the same time crowd it over towardthe other side of the machine sufficiently to bring the butts intoproper relation with said knotting mechanism. While the outside seriesof fingers are being forced down the central series are being drawnback, and the rear faces of the fingers b and I), (particularly those ofthe fingers 5 are being pressed against the butts of the straw, whichoperates to even up said butts, and also to crowd them in the desireddirection toward the knotter. As the downward stroke of the outsidebases is completed the center base commences its stroke and performs thework which the outside ones have just been performing, while the outsideones return and perform the work which the central one has just beenperforming, thus maintaininga continuous operation in both directions atall times. As will be readily understood, the lower ends of the basesare maintained in the same relative position to the inner face of thebutter or frame at all times by reason of being secured in the ways asdescribed. Thus the outer fingers I) travel in a fixed position inrelation to the frame, which enables the driver, by means of the rod Bto adjust the butter when cutting grain of diiferent lengths so thatsaid butter will operate to bring the various lengths of grain into thesame relative position with the binding mechanism, thus adj usting thestraw as required to secure the best results in tying it. At thebeginning of the return movement the crank shaft operates to throw theupper end of each base outwardly, and thus withdraw the finger b thereonfrom the cradle. Said rear fingers thus travel in the plane with theforward fingers during their downward movement only, and are, thereforemounted on seats of greater pitch than said other fingers, whereby theymay be made shorter and yet project into the cradle the same distance asthe others during the downward movement during which they operate as dothe other fingers to push the straw downward and in the direction of thebinding mechanism. It will thus be seen that said rear fingers b operateonly during the downward movement and only for one purpose while theforward fingers b perform a similar operation during the downwardmovement and the additional operation, during the return move ment ofevening up the butts of the straws as before described. The intermediatefingers 12 also assist in said work during the backward movement, but donot operate to crowd the straws over as far as do the fingers 12 becauseof the fact that the outward turn of the crank operates to partiallywithdraw them from the cradle. The various angles of the fingers alsoenable them to catch the straws lying in various positions with greatercertainty and thus increase the effectiveness of the device for thepurpose.

It will be understood, of course, that more than three fingers might beprovided on each base or that a less number might also be used and thatthey might be secured in their respective waysby other means than thepins shown, and also that the bases and rods connecting them with thecrank shaft might be formed of single pieces of cast metal if preferred,and various other mechanical changes made in construction, withoutdeparting from my invention.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A butter for grain binders consisting of a frame arranged at one sideof the grain-deck and provided with a series of longitudinal ways,reciprocating bases mounted in said ways, fingers secured to suitableseats in said bases and projecting into the grain-deck, a compound crankshaft with its cranks on different sides of the center to which saidbases are connected, and suitable gearing for driving said shaft,substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a grain binder, of a butter therefor consisting ofa frame formed with longitudinal ways and hinged at one side of thegrain-deck, reciprocating bases mounted in said ways and connected witha crank shaft for operating the same, the forward end of each of saidbases being secured from moving transversely out of said ways, a seriesof fingers mounted on each of said bases the one on said forward endbeing mounted to extend within the grain-deck a considerable distanceand on a gradual incline, substantially as shown and specified.

3. The combination with a grain binder, of a butter consisting of theframe B hinged at one side of the grain-deck formed with longitudinalways as described, the reciprocating bases B mounted therein with theirlower ends secured therein by means of transverse pins extending throughon each side of said frame their upper ends being secured to the cranksof a compound crank shaft, said crank shaft journaled in suitablebearings on the frame A, gearing for driving said crank shaft, and theseries of fingers 19 b and 19 mounted on each of said bases, beingformed of different lengths and extending out therefrom at differentangles, substantially as shown and described.

4. A butter for grain binders consisting of a series of reciprocatingarms each connected at one end to separate cranks extending in differentdirections of a compound crank-shaft, which crank-shaft is journaled insuitable bearings on the elevator frame and connected with the drivingmechanism by which it is operated, the other ends of said reciprocating1 5 JAMES E. MUSTARD. n 5.

Witnesses:

CHRISTOPHER C. TAYLOR, Tnos. DAVIS.

